Course Plan

Weeks 1-2
Chapter One
Topic: Education and Student Life
Rhetorical Focus: Argumentation
Organizing Skills: Arranging ideas in order of importance,
giving reasons, writing topic sentences
Gr. & Rhet. Func.: Expressing reason with words like
“because”, “so” and “therefore”; use of
transition words, e.g. “in addition”, “also”,
“first of all”, “finally”
Weeks 3-4
Chapter Two
Topic: City life
Rhetorical Function: Description
Organization Skills: Writing topic sentences, adding details to a
paragraph, writing concluding sentences
Gr. & Rhet. Func.: Using expressions like “since” to give
reasons
Avoiding “run-on” sentences
Weeks 5-6
Chapter Three
Topic: Business and Money
Rhetorical Function: Letter to the editor (argumentation)
Organization Skills: Writing reactions to a reading selection
Supporting an opinion with a general
statement and examples
Gr. & Rhet. Func. The use of modals, e.g. “must”, “have to”, “should”, “ought to” to
express strong or moderate opinions
Midterm test
Weeks 7-8
Chapter Four
Topic: Jobs and Professions
Rhetorical Function: autobiographical narration
Organization Skills: Limiting information, writing topic
sentences, writing concluding sentences
Gr. & Rhet. Func. Past tense, present perfect, present perfect continuous
Use of demonstratives to maintain cohesion
Weeks 9-10
Chapter Five
Topic: Life Styles Around the World
Rhetorical Function: Autobiographical narration
Organization Skills: Narrative organization, use of details
Gr. & Rhet. Func.: Use of the past perfect
Midterm test
Weeks 11-12
Chapter Nine
Topic: New Frontiers
Rhetorical Function: Description
Organization Skills: Making comparisons while keeping related
information together
Gr. & Rhet. Func. Using the passive voice, varying word order, e.g. “with + NP”;
Weeks 13-14
Chapter Twelve
Topic: With Liberty and Justice for All
Rhetorical Function: Argument with audience in mind
Organization Skills: Determining one’s audience, predicting and
countering objections, making an outline
Gr. & Rhet. Func. Using the conditional mood
Linking expressions and transition word
Final Exam